Join me in a sane fitness lifestyle?

[KatSG]

Hello, Mamas!

It's been a long time since I was here at Mothering. Today as I searched through my old web haunts for a fitness support group I grew more disillusioned the more I looked. Most of the sites appeared to have lost all the good members and moderators, were cluttered with annoying ads, and just lacking any real sense of integrity and community. I knew Mothering had gone through a lot of changes since the last time I was here but I can see it's still the same group of authentic, mindful and supportive women. Yay!

I hope some of you are game for joining me in a supportive group to rally us on to better health, better self-image, and a sense of strength and accomplishment. I used to be in this group called "The 5% Club," which meant we were in the 5% of people who maintained a healthy lifestyle after weight loss. It was great. The group was a place where we could take stock of where we were with our personal goals, cheer each other on, and just get back to center. I knew that even if I was off track for a few days coming back to that "home," which was free of judgement, helped me pick up where I left off. I'd love to have that again.

Here's where I am: 

-I have 2 little girls, ages 7 and 4 1/2. They're unbelievably awesome. 

-I work full-time as a consultant. As dreamy as working for myself can be, it also means that I am never caught up. My to-do list is always a mile long. And sometimes my work schedule is unpredictable. I also volunteer on the board for my famers market, run a professional networking group, go to conferences, try to be involved at my kids' schools. Oh, and try to see my husband and friends, too (really want more of that this year). So I'm busy, like everyone here.

-I'm gluten-free, and my family is dairy-free. This isn't as big a deal as it used to be. I've been GF for 4 years and with all the great products out there it's pretty easy to eat well and not feel deprived. I've also taught myself to bake and become a better cook.

And here's what I want for myself, going forward (This is not a new year's resolution! This is a new life!):

-Get my strength back. I have a yet-to-be diagnosed condition that's a little like MS but not MS (no brain lesions). This means I have mild numbness and I'm just not very coordinated. I used to be a runner but I'm just not up to that. Would love to get back there, but I'll be happy with just being fit, regardless of how I get there. 

-Make exercise a party of my daily life, like brushing my teeth. I could use some help figuring out how to do this. I'd love ideas about how to get my kids involved without slowing me down or injuring myself (they always want to jump on my belly or back when I'm doing mat work).

-Be consistent with meal planning. I know my life will be a lot more sane if I have plan for lunches and dinners for the week, make things ahead of time, use my slow cooker, etc. 

-Get to bed at a reasonable hour. I know my life is infinitely better when I'm rested. I'm just better at everything I do. 

-Lose 15 pounds. There. I said it. Obviously I need to do it for health reasons since I know most of this weight is from inactivity, but then there is the vanity factor, too. I want to like the way I look in my clothes.

Anyone interested in joining me for a daily check-in of personal fitness goals, whatever they are? Let's do this!

[laurakathy]

Hi!

I rarely visit this website but happened to do so yesterday and saw your post.....as I was contemplating getting into shape....

A lot of what was going on in my mind is in your post, so it seems I should join you.

I am a mom of two girls (ages 2.5 and 3.5)...since #2 came along I have been working 3 days/week and, until recently, the other two weekdays were filled with EI therapy appointments for DD#2. Well, she has made HUGE progress and we now have only a couple of standing appointments each week (one for her and one for her sister), so I think it is about time to focus on some "me" things. Also, I think that a lot of my stress and daily aggravations can be managed if I work on a few things....

I am hoping to:

• Make the time to exercise at least 5 days/week;
• Sign up, study for and pass a licensing exam I have been procrastinating on since DD#1 was born;
• Come up with, and stick to, a cleaning routine so I am not overwhelmed by my home;
• Get better at meal planning and prepping food ahead of time;
• Make my own sleep a priority.

Thanks!

Laura

[babygrant]

I'm in!

My goals that I will accompish are:

-Lose the last 25-30 pounds (have already lost 35).

-Involve my children in an active lifestyle.  I want to incorporate a more active lifestyle rather than organized fitness.  Of course I'm still going to use my treadmill, spin bike, home gym, or do an exercise video, but I want to involve my kids in just a more active lifestyle.  Going for walks, snowshoeing, tobogganing, swimming, etc, etc.  Things that are fun that don't feel like exercise.

-Get my eating back under control.  Eat to life NOT Live to eat.  I notice a few eating habits in my oldest son that worry  me a bit, so I want to get it all under control.

-Complete a Sprint Triathlon before I turn 30 in September.  I know I can do it.  I just have to learn how to swim because I don't think doggy paddle will work, lol.

[major_mama11]

I'll join! I feel like my self-care has really gotten pushed to the back burner in the past year, and I need to start making it a priority.

I am a mom of 2 preschoolers, one of whom is extremely physically active and needs almost constant chasing just to keep him from hurting himself. And yet, even with all the chasing, I am having a really hard time even getting back to my pre-pg weight (which itself is 20 pounds over a healthy wt). I woh part-time, 12-hour nights. I really I feel like night shift is a big part of my problems, since I'm exhausted for 2 days after each night shift, then I might have one day of feeling a normal energy level before I have to go back to work again the next time. As of January (next week- yay!), I'm dropping down to only 12-18 hrs per week, and I think that will be a BIG help in my energy level. I'm just not a night shift kinda girl. I find that when I'm home with the kids, I tend to snack a lot, and when I'm exhausted, I tend to just sit around and spend way too much time on mdc... like today

Goals for 2011- I will try to keep this simple...

- Do more of the cooking myself- DH cooks more than I do, which is great, but the kinds of foods he cooks are definitely not conducive to weight loss! Also, Dh is quite picky, and I see this affecting the kids as they arent' exposed to a wide range of foods with him being the main cook. I used to make a lot of healthy soups and casseroles and such (for myself- Dh is very picky), and I need to get back to it, before DH manages to turn DS into a picky eater too (DD was a born picky eater, but DS actually has a willingness to try new foods, IF he is exposed to them)

- Work out in some way 3 times per week, even if it means wii fit or something like that. I may buy myself a wii fit since DH and I didn't exchange gifts this year!

- Sleep more- As pp have said, this is so important. My toddler still nurses at night, and then I try to get by on 5-6 hours or less most of the time. It's so counter-productive, since the next day I have little energy for anything.

- Don't be lazy- this pretty much covers everything else. (ie less internet time when home with kids, be more consistent in housework, put more energy into homeschooling.etc) 

Ultimately, I would like to lose 20 pounds before considering baby #3, which will probably happen in the next year. I don't want to go into each pregnancy 10 pounds heavier. So, if I could make the kind of changes that would allow 0.5 pounds wt loss per week, ~20 in less than a year- that would get me where I want to be and hopefully be sustainable.

My parents are starting to have more chronic health issues (high cholesterol, fatty liver disease, pre-diabetes, etc). My sister has been on BP meds since age 31. It's starting to hit home that I can't take my good health up to this point for granted- I need to make some changes.

[hedgehogs4]

I'll join :)  My name is Amanda.  I have a 2 yo dd and a 4 yo ds, a SAH husband and I work full time as an ER nurse.  I work 13 hour overnights and also pick up some overtime and work per diem as an ICU nurse in another hospital - so I'm feelin' your night shift issues, major-mama!  Umm, I'm still nursing my LO and I am about 15 lbs overweight @ 5'6" and 166 lbs.  

My health goals - I am at a point in my life (34 years old) where I realize I am no longer young and I feel as though I am at a crossroad - I need to commit to health, exercise and a love for my body or I WILL remain overweight, suffer joint problems, fatigue and lose strength.  I currently have hip pain and 2 back injuries that put me down for DAYS this year.  If I bend over at the waist for too long, I have trouble standing straight again, my core is that weak .  I see it every, every day at work - people are just soooo much better off if they commit to exercise.  I also am the sole income for my family and I work in a job where back injuries can change careers.... sooo my 2011 goals are....

1.  To commit to strengthening my core.

2.  Change to a day shift so I can have a consistent sleep (and life) schedule - better for my health and fitness goals.  

3.  Run a 5K in May - a first for me.

4.  Break a sweat 5 days a week.  

5.  Eat more mindfully.

[laurakathy]

So....how do we start?

My big struggle with exercise right now is making the time - especially now that is is COLD and there are so few hours of daylight. For a bit, I would wake up and walk while my partner showered and the girls slept....then they woke up while we were both occupied and got scared....Sometimes I walk after they are asleep, but I have been having trouble with that as of late....partially the cold and partially because I want to "just veg" for that time before I go to sleep.

Last night, I flew home from work, got the girls out the door and took a walk before it was pitch black...the start was slow as they were walking, too....once they were ready for the stroller, I walked at a much faster pace. I have also been looking for a CHEAP jogging stroller on Craig's List and may have found one.

Laura

[laurakathy]

Okay - my last post motivated me....instead of "surfing the net" on my lunch break I went out and walked "briskly" for 1/2 hour.

I also scheduled a hair cut for this afternoon as that it always something I put off and I have been feeling so frumpy as of late - maybe a haircut will help??

[hedgehogs4]

Hmmm - well last night I did crunches and also shoveled snow so that's a small nod to physical activity.  I also applied for a day position at work - I will miss my night-shifters and night culture but it must be done.  I will make a true commitment to exercise and eating for new year's.  For my 5K I have told my husband, who will run it with me, my family, and some friends at work - so a public commitment has been made.  I will mention it to some of my cardiologist colleagues as well, as it is their practice that sponsors this particular one I will run in...  

In other news, my dishwasher has broken and my 2 year old has had about 5 major meltdowns today.  urgh.  

- amanda

[laurakathy]

Amanda - Sorry to hear about the dishwasher and the meltdowns.....no fun! And good luck on the position change....I worked overnights for a while in my former life - I cannot imagine doing it with children.

Out of curiosity - are you thinking about one of those "couch to 5k" programs? Are you/were you ever a runner?

I hope the meltdowns are down for the day,

Laura

[KatSG]

WOOHOO!

I'm so excited to see all of you are in this with me. I so need the support of spirited, committed women. Have any of you read The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin?  If you know the book you know that she will often say, "Studies show..." Which I love about her--she's so thorough in her research. Anyway, "studies show" that when you declare your intentions to your community you're more likely to stay on track, or get back on track if you get off. I'm so happy to have all of you here for that support.

Something that has been helping me in the last week is asking what my BEST self would do: By best self would run another load of laundry. It only takes 2 minutes. My best self would hang my clothes instead of folding them up on the closet floor. My best self would just call that person back and deal with the issue, instead of worrying about how the call will go. I find that I'm usually pretty excited about being my best self. I'm not so excited when I hear a lot of shoulds or guilt talk in my head. There is also less to rebel against. :)

I'm still working declaring my goals clearly, but here's a rundown on what I've done for my health:

I had my annual yesterday, the first in three years. My FNP is referring me to a rheumatalogist to see if they have any ideas about my peripheral neuropathy. I'm not hopeful--I know my case is a mystery and there is likely no treatment--but it's nice that my FNP wants to keep me moving toward answers. I found out I likely have a fibroid, which explained a lot, but isn't anything to worry about. And I'm at my all-time (not-pregnant) high weight. :p Oh, well. At least I have reality staring me in the face and I can't ignore it. Not that I was. But THERE. AGAIN. DEAL WITH THIS.  I just keep telling myself it will be that much sweeter when I've lost all the weight. Since I've done that a few times I know how good that feels. :)

I've been eating good, whole food, mostly from scratch. I could use some recommendations for a food journal/calculator that works with a Blackberry or iPhone, and preferably also has web access. I have a hard time doing too much typing on small devices. Ideas? 

Oh, one slip: I came home from a stressful board meeting last night and had a glass of wine and a few cookies. Ok, two glasses of wine and about 4 cookies. Lesson: They didn't help that much. I was still wired and anxious afterward. Reading a book is what calmed me down.

My husband tweaked his knee skiing this past weekend and is now pretty committed to joining a gym so he can get his own strength back. There's one close to our house, with childcare, so we're going to try it out. This takes away my biggest anxiety about starting a gym membership: negotiating the time with my husband. Whew!

laurakathy: Thanks for being the first to jump in! What is the licensing exam you want to study for? And why type of exercise do you like to do? I'm a little envious your kids can still go in a stroller. I was in such awesome shape in the days when I had my double jogging stroller! I found mine on Craig's List, too. And good for you for walking on your lunch! I have to figure out how to actually take a lunch break. :) About cleaning: I can highly recommend Fly Lady. She can be super annoying and rigid...but she's usually right. I don't get her emails anymore but I did her plan a few years ago and eventually incorporated her ideas into my life. I can now say that my house is usually 30 minutes from company-ready.

babygrant: Congrats on losing 35 lbs! That's a big accomplishment. Do you have all that equipment at home? I so wish I had a good stationary bike and a place for it. I actually have one from about 1987 and it's pretty uncomfortable. I may just suck it up and pull it out of storage and use it. What is a Sprint Triathlon?

majormama11: Oy, night shift. I don't know how you and hedgehogs4 do it. One of my best friends is an ICU nurse and somehow she manages, but I know it's hard. What kind of foods will your DH eat? I have a lot of low-carb cookbooks because they're usually gluten-free and they're usually pretty hardy meals, surprisingly. I really like South Beach recipes and anything you can make in a slow cooker.

hedgehogs4: Congrats on applying for a new job! That's HUGE! And I hear you about the sole income earner. I did that most of the last 18 months. That, combined with my father's death last summer, is probably why I gained weight. (I'm honestly a little stumped about what happened. (But I was out of it for a good 4 months this past year.) What do you do for core exercises? 

So here are the things I'm going to commit to by the end of the weekend:

1. Get a meal plan for the week, including lunches.

2. Do my 15 minute routine of floor exercises/free weights every day.

3. Get to sleep. Well, maybe not on NYE, but the other nights. :)

4. Go on a hike with the family.

5. Check out races in my area. Not committing actually running one (walking is more likely for me), but I'll see what's out there. :)

Have a great day everyone!

(And there's always room for more! Join us!)

[namaste_mom]

I want to join a group committed to getting/being healthy.

I have a lot of goals and intentions.

But first, I work full time as a professor and go on long research trips. DH is a WAHP and a coach. I have 4 children on this earth and one that I carried to full term but left too soon. I carried to term 5 times, and lost another at 12 weeks. I tell my husband I've been pregnant 5 and 1/3 times. My life is hectic and crazy, I love it but tend to get stressed. When I get stressed, I get sick and my lower back feels horrible. I've lost most of the weight from the pregnancies but ...

I will lose 15 lbs.

I will be strong, all parts of me, including my brain.

I will make meals at home and meal plan.

I will simplify and declutter my house and my life.

I will manage our lives and my research, teaching and students better.

I will play with my children and be involved in their lives.

Another very big goal of mine is to get our financial/estate/retirement issues worked out. We have been debt free for 15 years but I have been ignoring some aspects that need attention but our lives and my MIL life. I will do this so that the weight is off my shoulders and stress is out of my life.

I'm happy to meet you all.

I will be a good wife and friend.

[sparklett]

I'm in!  I have already lost 110 pounds since April and have just 40 more to go to reach goal.  I once lost a similar amount of weight and gained it all back, so I am trying to be smarter about it this time around.

My son is 3.5 and I honestly don't know how I'd be able to work out if it weren't for my husband agreeing to distract DS for an hour in the morning while I run.  I also run in the late (late) evening after DS goes to bed.  All of this has become as natural as brushing my teeth or breathing.  In fact, if I skip an evening run I feel so guilty... just like I might feel if I didn't brush!

I eat a plant-based diet.  No dairy, no red meat, no chicken.  I do occasionally eat eggs and I have a craving for salmon that will never, ever go away (I live in Oregon and no one will ever convince me to step away from my salmon).  I'd LOVE to go gluten-free- it might be on my list of things to try in 2011.

So here's my list:

1)  Lose the rest of this weight.

2)  Figure out how the heck to keep it off.

3)  Finish the half-marathon I'm signed up for in February and do another in September (this is so, so important to me)

4)  As a working mom, I hope to take DS on a "date" every Sunday.  He and I love our dates and it's so important that me and my little guy have lots of time together.

5)  Surround myself with positive, happy, self-confident people who will treat me well.  And I will treat them well in return.  Ditch the people who are toxic.

6)  Finish shelling out the money to see all of the MFM specialists I need to see in order to get cleared for a late 2011 pregnancy.  I had pre-e with my first pregnancy and am only new starting to understand all of the factors that contributed to it.  This year I hope to work with a highly-regarded specialist to get some answers and work on a plan for pregnancy.

7)  Explore the gluten-free world.

Looking forward to getting started.

[KatSG]

Hello, women!

It's so great to see more of you join us!

namaste_mom: I love your declarative language. I can relate to all the things you said, especially that part about estate planning. We are really stumped on that one. We don't have siblings or close relatives that could care for our kids if something were to happen to us. We worry about this constantly. We did get a lot of help from a financial advisor from Ameriprise. She really does her own thing, so that's not a plug for that company neccesarily, but she has saved us so much money and really helped us map out our financial goals.

sparklett: Whoohoo! Yay for losing that weight and being so committed to running. I so wish I could run like I did in my 20s. Maybe those days aren't over. We'll see. I'm also in Oregon. Which race are you running? One of my committments for the weekend was to look up some races. I was looking at 5Ks, and ones that I could walk if I just can't get my legs to cooperate. I'll decide at the end of this month if I'm going to do a 5K. I used to be involved in the Komen Race for the Cure and I may at least walk that one again in September. 

And if anyone wants to hear about my life gluten-free, I'm happy to tell you whatever. I've been doing it for 4 years now and I honestly don't feel like I'm missing much at all. 

So, let's see how I did with my weekend promises:

1. Get a meal plan for the week, including lunches. DONE!

2. Do my 15 minute routine of floor exercises/free weights every day. Uh, nope. This didn't happen. BUT! I did get a 7-day pass at a close-by gym and went last night and worked out for about 40 minutes. 

3. Get to sleep. Well, maybe not on NYE, but the other nights. :) Mixed bag. Slept a lot some nights, but got to bed late last night. 

4. Go on a hike with the family. This didn't happen b/c DH wrecked his knee skiing and it was cooooold. We're planning one for next week.

5. Check out races in my area. Did this. Saved the URLs to Delicious, and will see how I feel after a month of working out if this is possible for me. I really hope it is!

Another thing I want for myself, echoing what a lot of you have said, is to have better friendships. I have just been really bad about making the time for friends. So I've scheduled up a bunch of dates and dinners with friends for the next few weeks to remedy this. There are a lot of really, really cool people in my life and I want to spend more time with them. We had a great little NYE party, drinks with high-school friends who now live in my 'hood this week, I've got my coworking cube-mate's family coming for dinner this weekend, and I've got notes to make plans with other friends. THAT has been key: make notes to make invitations. 

How are you all doing with food? I've been doing...ok. I just don't want to think of myself on a diet. The meal planning really helps and I'm working to make sure that I'm eating real food and not some crazy diet plan. Here's what I did yesterday: I took all the jillions of recipes torn from the newspaper and magazines and planned around those. I figure if they're good, I'll put them in a notebook for organizing (got that, too). If they're not, toss them! It's ridiculous to keep recipes I'll never make. I also planned the meals to use up what we've got right now so I don't have to go buy a ton of food after an expensive December. 

How are the rest of you all?

[sparklett]

Originally Posted by KatSG 

sparklett: Whoohoo! Yay for losing that weight and being so committed to running. I so wish I could run like I did in my 20s. Maybe those days aren't over. We'll see. I'm also in Oregon. Which race are you running? One of my committments for the weekend was to look up some races. I was looking at 5Ks, and ones that I could walk if I just can't get my legs to cooperate. I'll decide at the end of this month if I'm going to do a 5K. I used to be involved in the Komen Race for the Cure and I may at least walk that one again in September. 

And if anyone wants to hear about my life gluten-free, I'm happy to tell you whatever. I've been doing it for 4 years now and I honestly don't feel like I'm missing much at all. 

So, let's see how I did with my weekend promises:

1. Get a meal plan for the week, including lunches. DONE!

2. Do my 15 minute routine of floor exercises/free weights every day. Uh, nope. This didn't happen. BUT! I did get a 7-day pass at a close-by gym and went last night and worked out for about 40 minutes. 

3. Get to sleep. Well, maybe not on NYE, but the other nights. :) Mixed bag. Slept a lot some nights, but got to bed late last night. 

4. Go on a hike with the family. This didn't happen b/c DH wrecked his knee skiing and it was cooooold. We're planning one for next week.

5. Check out races in my area. Did this. Saved the URLs to Delicious, and will see how I feel after a month of working out if this is possible for me. I really hope it is!

Another thing I want for myself, echoing what a lot of you have said, is to have better friendships. I have just been really bad about making the time for friends. So I've scheduled up a bunch of dates and dinners with friends for the next few weeks to remedy this. There are a lot of really, really cool people in my life and I want to spend more time with them. We had a great little NYE party, drinks with high-school friends who now live in my 'hood this week, I've got my coworking cube-mate's family coming for dinner this weekend, and I've got notes to make plans with other friends. THAT has been key: make notes to make invitations. 

How are you all doing with food? I've been doing...ok. I just don't want to think of myself on a diet. The meal planning really helps and I'm working to make sure that I'm eating real food and not some crazy diet plan. Here's what I did yesterday: I took all the jillions of recipes torn from the newspaper and magazines and planned around those. I figure if they're good, I'll put them in a notebook for organizing (got that, too). If they're not, toss them! It's ridiculous to keep recipes I'll never make. I also planned the meals to use up what we've got right now so I don't have to go buy a ton of food after an expensive December. 

How are the rest of you all?

Hi Kat!

I started running in my mid-20s and slowly petered out... and gained a ton of weight as a consequence.  I took it up again awhile back and at age 33, I'm now pretty committed to my running.  I'm flying down to Long Beach to do the Surf City half marathon in February and today I signed up for the Disneyland half marathon, which takes place in September.  I just now found out about the Hood to coast marathon and am hoping I can get on a team in a few years.  There's also a couple 5k's that I'd like to try. 

As far as gluten-free goes, what are the benefits?   I have PCOS and recently had to have an ovary removed becuase of it.  I've heard that people with PCOS should consider a gluten-free diet, but I've never really researched it. 

I'm doing just okay on my eating habits right now.  Totally gorged myself over the New Year holiday and am now regretting it immensely.  This morning I started off right with a curried chickpea salad with raisins and celery (words cannot describe the awesomeness) but then for lunch I caved and had a veggie sub sandwich on WHITE BREAD () complete with mayo () and cheese () with my boss. I have no idea what came over me.  It's no wonder I feel so terrible tonight. 

It looks like you're coming along nicely with your promises.  I really need to get to bed at an earlier time.  But I'm always faced with nights like tonight, when I've been working all day and just needed to relax a bit.  It's 9:30 and I still need to do my hour on my treadmill (way too cold to run outside tonight).

Keep going! 

[KatSG]

Sparklett: I'm GF because I'm likely celiac, which means I have a genetic intolerance to gluten. A good chunk of my mom's side is celiac, including my brother, who also has MS. When I eat gluten I get bloated and my brain shuts down. It's also the likely culprit of the numbness in my extremeties. 

One of my office-mates also has PCOS, is going to start trying to get PG soon, and started eating a GF diet and she said her cycles returned to normal and she feels so much better, FWIW.

Have a great run!

[namaste_mom]

Sparklett - 110 pounds!!! wow, that is so awesome! I used to run all of the time in my 20's before having kids--had my first at 30. I do like running and run occasionally but if I run I see a huge decrease in my milk supply. So, at least right now, it is walking for me.

Kat - way to go on calling and making those food dates. I would like to be more like that. I miss having friendships but can not bring myself to pick up the phone and call people. I'm happy once I go and have fun but I really dread a dinner date. I suppose that is part of me being an introvert.

I had a baby 8 months ago and hit my first weight goal. I gained about 50 lbs with that pregnancy and now I have taken that weight off -- I'm at 141 (my Pre-Tyson weight). My next goal is to lose 4 more pounds to 137 (my pre-Maya weight). I will continue to lose weight that was left on after each kid until I am down to 125.

[sparklett]

Originally Posted by namaste_mom  I do like running and run occasionally but if I run I see a huge decrease in my milk supply. So, at least right now, it is walking for me.

I had the same issue when DS was an infant, but it happened with walking as well.  And it seemed like the second I would get my heart rate up even a smidge, it would do something weird to my milk and make his GERD even worse.  So strange.  Between that and feeling generally terrible due to pre-e recovery, for the first year of his life, I did pretty much nothing.  I'm interested to see if that happens if I decide to have another baby- breastfeeding and exercise seemed like a weird chemistry experiment.

[laurakathy]

Ugh - I just lost my post.

Anyways - I think I was saying that you Ladies are very inspiring!! I have NEVER been one to exercise much or diet....now that I am nearing 40 (37 this year) it is becoming quite clear I need to pay more attention to my health!!!

Right now I am focusing on making the time to exercise....so far that is taking the form of walking. I have been getting out with the girls each day...once they tire of walking, I put them in the stroller and pick up the pace. The darkness keeps ending our walks earlier than I'd like, though.  I picked up a used jogging stroller yesterday which will hopefully get us out for longer strecthes and may even encourage me to jog a bit? I have contemplated a couch-to-5k but am really trying to maintain my focus on just making the time to do something..... 

I have had TWO good night's sleep in a row!!!!!!! How wonderful! One of our daugther's has a lot of sleep trouble and can keep us up for hours (like the other night) - so when she sleeps and I get to bed on time, thigns are good. Here is hoping for #3 tonight!

Kat - I have to take a social work licensing exam. I graduated a few years back and "got the call" for our first daugther two weeks later....the job I have does not require the license, so I have never gone for it. As the girls get older, I would like to consider adoption homestudies as an occasional thing to make a few bucks - but need my license to get going with that.....plus, the longer I wait, the harder it will be.

I am interested in the GF talk - we are pretty sure our girls have food sensitivities and have been exploring those for a while.....and new information is appreciated!

Good luck everyone - have a great day!

[sparklett]

Originally Posted by namaste_mom 

Kat - way to go on calling and making those food dates. I would like to be more like that. I miss having friendships but can not bring myself to pick up the phone and call people. I'm happy once I go and have fun but I really dread a dinner date. I suppose that is part of me being an introvert.

I feel the same way and would probably be a hermit if it weren't for my husband, who is a total extrovert.  We just moved to Oregon and are in the process of making new friends.  DH is the one who calls people for dinner dates and playdates.  He's like my personal ambassador.

[KatSG]

Woohoo! So great to see all of you here and plugging away, one day at a time, on your goals. Today I heard a quote that said we may not get much done in a day but we can get a lot done in a year. That made sense to me. If I keep doing what I'm doing it may not feel all that significant come bedtime but I really feel that by this time next year my life will be so much better, especially healthwise.

So, quickly:

I added up my food in a food calculator last night (still looking for suggestions for a good one) and I didn't have enough calories, specifically carbs. This surprised me b/c I was eating a lot of veggies. But that's common when you don't eat grains, I guess. So I had a GF cookie. :)

Went to the new gym today and did a fabulous Pilates class. You may get a kick out of this: I found the perfect teacher for me! She has Parkinson's, pretty obviously, and is a little kooky, but she gets limitations and neuro issues. I think I may ask her if I can hire her for a few training sessions. The class was challenging, but not so hard that I felt weak and clumsy. It was just right. Yay! And I love that my gym is full of old people. :) Just my speed.

Then did 20 minutes of fast walking on an incline + some moderate free weights. I've decided that if I take the next 2 weeks to establish routines, wake my body back up, this will all go better. 

Hope you're all having a great day!